Contact lenses have become increasingly popular and due to reductions in manufacturing costs, disposable contact lenses are now an attractive, economical choice for the consuming public. Such lenses may be frequently replaced by consumers (e.g., on a daily or weekly basis) and do not need to be cleaned or sterilized as often as traditional contact lenses. Of course, the consumer must keep a supply of lenses on hand that is commensurate with the frequency with which the lenses are replaced. Consumer demand for disposable contact lenses has led to a need for disposable packaging that is easy to use and inexpensive. The packages should be constructed to provide safe storage and shipping for the lenses, yet provide ready access to the lenses when they are needed by the consumer. It is also desirable that the individual packages be as small as possible, so that they may be easily stored and carried.
Soft contact lenses are typically packaged and stored in a storage solution. One widely-used contact lens package is the “blister pack,” which has a rigid plastic container with a flat upper surface and a concave-shaped well that contains a single contact lens with a quantity of storage solution. The lens is retained in the well by a cover sealed along the perimeter of the upper surface of the well. The blister packs are boxed for shipping and storage. When a lens is needed, the consumer peels back the flexible cover from the blister pack to expose the contact lens, pours the lens out into his or her hand, and places the lens on the tip of the finger for application to the eye. It remains an objective to improve contact lens packages to make them easier to use, store and display.